Tuning fork-type quartz crystal vibrators, owing to their shock resistance and the fact that they can be readily miniaturized, have long been used in quartz wristwatches for the purpose of producing oscillations which serve as a time standard. However, the prior art technique regarding the electrode structure of a vibrator of the type described was defective in that only the resonating portions of the vibrator element, i.e., only the tines of the tuning fork, were considered when deciding the electrode structure. The mode of oscillation of the tuning fork stem as well as the magnitude and distribution of the electrical charges generated there were virtually disregarded.
On the other hand, although there has been an increasing tendency toward vibrator miniaturization and thickness reduction to meet the requirements of ever smaller quartz wristwatches, there can now be seen a deterioration in vibrator performance and reliability which accompanies extreme reductions in the vibrator size and thickness.